抄録
The objective of this study was to clarify the efficacy of a currently-available DEET repellent against tick species in Japan. We performed two different field trials: “human trap,” and “flag-dragging.” In total, 482 ticks were collected from white flannel cloths in field studies. The species of collected ticks consisted of Ixodes persulcatus and I. ovatus which accounted for 5.3 and 94.7% in the human trap test and 31.4 and 68.6% in the flag-dragging test, respectively. The repellency levels of DEET-treated flannel cloths in the human trap and flag-dragging tests were 84.0 and 99.7%, respectively. The escape time of I. persulcatus and I. ovatus female adults from DEET-treated flannel cloth was measured. Median escape times for I. persulcatus and I. ovatus on DEET-treated flannel cloth were 48 s (95% CI: 30–96) and 10 s (95% CI: 5–24), respectively. In contrast, many ticks remained on untreated flannel for 10 min after mounting. These results indicate that DEET repellents appear to prevent tick bites and that the use of DEET repellents against ticks is effective as a personal protective measure.
